Tom Verducci States The Obvious

Major League Baseball has a lot of problems which has led to dwindling interest in the game. Lack of African American star players, lack of interest on social network sites because MLB zaps videos, terrible umpiring, I really could go on. The biggest problem though a problem that I haven't discussed here but have discussed with friends and family is the lack of overall stars in baseball.

Yes MLB has stars but they don't have the type of stars that are charismatic enough to get the average fan to tune into a random baseball game. Say what you want about guys like LeBron James or Tom Brady, you're tuning into their games on TV to see how well they play. Who can you say that about in baseball? I bring this topic up because baseball writers are finally taking notice. Specifically Tom Verducci of SI. Verducci states the obvious in his latest column on SI.com.

You might be surprised (or worse, might not be) to find that baseball lacks many such outsized personalities as compared to recent history. Go back 10 years, when the Steroid Era helped bring about the greatest period of power hitting the game ever has seen. The game was loaded with massive sluggers but also strikeout pitchers and polarizing personalities.

There's more to it than just players jacked up on roids hitting 70 home runs a year. Players like Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire were just good guys. I remember watching SportsCenter every night just to see what they said after a game. They were both likeable guys with tons of charisma. What MLB player has that type of charisma today that would randomly watch their game even if they don't like the team they're on? Verducci writes down a list of players for this season that are must see.

1. Tim Lincecum
2. Josh Hamilton
3. Brian Wilson
4. Aroldis Chapman
5. Roy Halladay
6. Jason Heyward
7. Felix Hernandez
8. Albert Pujols
9. Derek Jeter
10. Bryce Harper

I'm a Giants fan so of course I'm going to watch Lincecum and Wilson. I can see people watching Lincecum starts because people are amazed about his tiny stature and his ability to throw so hard. But are people really going to tune into a Giants game to watch Brian Wilson? I don't think so. As a player on the field, Wilson is no different than Andrew Bailey. On the other hand people might watch Wilson because they're tired of his act and want to see him implode. That's the only reason I can think of.


Also I know all about Josh Hamilton's story, but that isn't enough to get me to watch Rangers games. Hamilton in my opinion is no different as a player than Jim Edmonds in his prime. And I'd rather watch Cliff Lee than Halladay. Halladay in my opinion is really no different than John Smoltz. And I wasn't watching Braves games just because of Smoltz.

Players like Pujols and Jeter are only on the list because Verducci needed to list ten players. Chapman is on the list because his only talent is throwing hard and giving up home runs. Hernandez has never interested me and Bryce Harper will probably only reach the majors this season if the Nationals are desperate for attendance and are in last place in the division.

Which brings us back to the original point. Major League Baseball doesn't have any polarizing/charismatic stars to pull in casual viewers to watch on TV. Maybe Harper becomes that person. Maybe Heyward become that person.

Until baseball finds some star players the sport will continue to stagnate and fall even further down the totem poll from the NFL and NBA. Maybe the lockouts in the NFL and NBA will help baseball in the short run, but that will only be a temporary fix. Baseball needs stars.